Before you sign your sprinkler system up for yoga, add oatmeal to its diet or cut off its supply of red meat, hold on a minute.
That’s not how you make your sprinkler system last longer. (Feel free to try those tips yourself, though. None of us are getting any younger, right?)
The good news? There are some pretty easy ways to prolong your irrigation system life expectancy.
Put down your yoga mat and let’s take a look.
Regular Tune-Ups Will Help Your Irrigation System Last Longer
How long your sprinkler system lasts could depend on regular inspections and tune-ups.
What kinds of problems?
Broken, leaking, or clogged heads. Broken lines. Damage caused by snow plows or lawn mowers. A zone that won’t turn off. A loose fitting.
Ignore them, and problems will just get worse — and potentially cut short the life of your sprinkler system.
All the details that irrigation specialists check will make sure your irrigation system runs efficiently and lives a good long life.
The best irrigation system maintenance includes tune-up visits by irrigation specialists three times a year: in spring, to start up your system, in fall, to shut it down, and that all-important summer visit to look over your irrigation system when it’s working the hardest. Summer is when your system is under the greatest demand, and things are most likely to go wrong.
Eyes on your sprinkler system three times a year helps catch potentially expensive problems early, extending the life of your irrigation system.
Extend Sprinkler System Life Expectancy with Spring Activation
Your spring activation visit doesn’t just turn on your sprinkler system for the season — it’s a great way to help extend the life of your sprinkler system by catching any problems early.
Here in Eau Claire and Minneapolis, irrigation system activation happens between mid-April and the end of May, depending on the weather.
Winter can be rough around here. Frost causes the ground to heave and nudge your sprinkler heads out of whack. Snowplows can cause damage to components.
A thorough spring inspection will spot any problems so your irrigation specialist can fix them ASAP, helping your irrigation system to hold up for the long haul.
Irrigation Winterization Will Help it Last Longer
Getting all the water out of your pipes, valves, and heads before the first freeze isn’t just a should do. It’s a must do to extend your sprinkler system life expectancy. (You’ve probably heard this referred to as sprinkler system “blow out.”)
If water freezes in your sprinkler system’s components and expands, things break, and that means a costly repair.
Other maintenance tasks your irrigation specialists should do before winter:
- They should winterize your lake pump, if you use one, so it doesn’t break from winter’s freezing temperatures.
- They should add RV antifreeze to protect it, cover up the ends of the pipes so critters don’t crawl in and camp out; and remove the wiring so it doesn’t accidentally get turned on.
- Winterization should also include getting any water out of your backflow device. Freezing water will damage the internal components and can crack the body.
Winter, besides making it really uncomfortable to walk out to your mailbox in your robe, can cause costly damage to your sprinkler system that can cut its life short.
Avoid DIY Irrigation Maintenance
Sure, it feels good to tackle an irrigation repair job yourself and brag to your neighbor. “Yep, I strapped on my tool belt, replaced a few valves, no big deal.”
But if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing, you’re putting your poor irrigation system at risk. And, honestly, your neighbor isn't that easily impressed.
We’ve seen some scary DIY stuff out there. Repairs done with duct tape and zip ties. Copper pipes patched with tape.
We’ll pause so we can all shudder.
Tackle a line break yourself and you have to be sure that contaminants like dirt don't get into the line during repairs. That could cause permanent damage.
And it’s tricky to figure out what’s wrong with your sprinkler system in the first place. Any one problem could actually be due to several different issues.
Leave the repairs to the pros to extend the life expectancy of your irrigation system.
Sign up for irrigation system maintenance in Minneapolis, MN or Eau Claire, WI and rest easy. Maybe brag to your neighbor about your killer barbecue sauce instead.
How Long do Sprinkler Systems Last?
While different parts of your irrigation system will likely need replacing throughout its life, you can expect the average sprinkler system to last for about 20 years.
Want to Make Your Sprinkler System Last Longer? Trust RainMaster in Eau Claire & Minneapolis
While yoga and a vegan diet won’t do your irrigation system much good, regular tune-ups, good fall shut-down and sprinkler blow out maintenance and attention by skilled irrigation specialists can extend the life of your sprinkler system.
Your irrigation maintenance company should make all of this super easy.
You deserve skilled, efficient irrigation repair; continued attentive maintenance; and friendly customer service that takes away the stress and makes things easy.
Hire an Eau Claire or Minneapolis irrigation maintenance company that goes beyond fixing that immediate irrigation repair problem and sets you up for easy maintenance and efficiency designed for the long haul.
Choose from our three irrigation maintenance programs to make sure everything is running smoothly.
When you’re ready to put your trust in us, we can’t wait to meet you — and help you make the best choice for your lawn.
Ready to make your lawn life easier? Request a quote today! We’ll review your options together so you can make a confident decision. Then, you can finally enjoy your well-watered lawn and stop worrying about it.
